#The body keeps the score how to#

When we are relaxedВ we produce alpha waves in our brain. Our brain functions on electrical signals.ДЄnd the intensity and type of the electrical signal influences how we feel and how relaxed or nervous we are. Supportive RelationshipsДЄ supportive network of people around is also a crucial step to recover from trauma. Tackling the issue can be the very first step towards recovery.

ThatвЂ™s especially difficult for PTSD patient as they tend to shut down emotions instead of addressing.ДЄnd thatвЂ™s exactly why it can be very beneficial to open up and deal with them instead. Mindfulness is about being conscious and aware of our body and emotions. It taught her that she could deal with those sensations without running away from them but tackling them head on. But she stuck with it without trying to repress her feelings.

Some positions were particularly difficult, like the ones sheвЂ™d have to do with her legs open. A pat on the back would send off her alarm system. Yoga helps practitioners understand the connection between mind, body and emotions.ДЇor example, when an a rape victim started with yoga it wasnвЂ™t easy. Mind and bodies are connected, and trauma leaves our body with an hypersensitive, always on alarm system. Some traumatized children develop a strong focus towards negativity, and they see more threats, dangers and possibility for disaster where most other children see the positive scenarios. Those traumatic events can scar and change them for the worst. Traumatic events are much more devastating in children because their brain neural connections havenвЂ™t fully developed yet. Traumatic memories instead tend to be vivid and detailed. Such as, we remember the general feeling, but we donвЂ™t remember the smell of the room.ДЄnd by the time we tell the story a few times, it will likely be quite different from the first time we recalled it. Normal memories tend to be stripped out of details and sensory inputs, and they change in time. Stress hormones shoot up and take much longer to go back to normal compared to a non traumatized person.ДЄlso the mental area responsible for speaking slows down, sometimes leaving patients unable to speak.

Difficulty trusting people (especially those without the same PTSD)ДЇlashbacks are vivid memories of the traumatic experience.Д®xperiments shows that when patients relive flasbacks the left area of their brain responsible for rational thinking slowed down, which means they have difficulty in differentiating whatвЂ™s real and whatвЂ™s not.

The individuals feels helpless or too overwhelmed to cope with further life adversities. The consequences of trauma are often referred to as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Trauma can deeply affect the lives of people.

#The body keeps the score how to#

And as Shirley Glass explains, even harmful actions and betrayals by the people we love the most can be traumatic (read how to overcome infidelity). Trauma is often associated with war, but violent crimes and accidents also can lead to trauma. Trauma is the consequence of a highly stressful or painful experience. In the introduction van der Kolk shares a few statistics about rape for example, and shows that itвЂ™s unluckily a relatively widespread crime (read for example Hunger, a Memoir of My Body). And authors expert in betrayal says that betrayal can also often lead to trauma.ДЄnd many crimes many people think are isolated are not isolated at all. War, rape, accidents, assaultsвЂ¦ They can all lead to trauma. IntroductionД«essel van der Kolk says that trauma is more common than most people realize. His main area of focus and research has been in the area of post-traumatic stress.

You can cure trauma with yoga, mindfulness, supportive relationshipsвЂ¦ A few new interesting scientific breakthroughsДЄbout The Author: Bessel van der Kolk is a Dutch psychiatrist, author and educator.

Traumatized patients vividly remember everything of the trauma their whole life.

Trauma is more common than most people think.